The invention relates to a security container, or receptacle for information carriers which are to be kept secret, and in particular to security office furniture with a demountable lock.
Information carriers, such as e.g. technical drawings, plans, files, films, photographs, models, samples, tapes, EDP, data carriers and the like, which are to be kept secret and which are therefore stored in specially designed receptacles, specifically security office furniture, such as e.g. filing cabinets, cabinets with drawers or hanging charts, security desks, etc. are increasingly exposed to espionage, which may be commercial espionage i.e. industrial or factory espionage, or political espionage.
Unlike the danger to which articles of value such as e.g. money, jewelry or other valuable effects, such as paintings deposited in safes, are exposed due to theft, burglary, or even robbery, it is characteristic of espionage activities that the information carriers, e.g. design drawings which have to be maintained secret, are only temporarily removed by the spy from the receptacle in question, e.g. a cupboard for plans and drawings equipped with drawers, and are then returned to the receptacle after the making of copies, e.g. photographs or photocopies, or after merely memorization of the data of interest. It is also characteristic of the work of professional spies that unlike when breaking into a safe, they in no way damage or destroy the security receptacle in question, i.e. they leave behind no visible marks, and the act of espionage remains undetected by the interested parties. This is mainly because espionage generally extends over a long period, i.e. it is repeated several times at the same place.
Therefore, as a defense against spies, i.e. the unnoticed opening and closing of the receptacle by third parties, the preferably steel housing members of security office furniture are not screwed or even assembled together, but are instead welded together from the inside, such as e.g. the covers and bottoms to the drawer sets and the drawer fronts to the drawers, in order to prevent the temporary theft of secret articles without leaving behind visible marks. In addition, in the known security office furniture the locking bars are secured against bending by being given generous cross-sectional dimensions and positive guidance with multiple close mounting. However, in the case of the known means, the possibility often exists of raising them into their opening or unlocking position with the furniture closed and locked by inserting a disc into a crack or gap in the furniture or by inserting a thin metal rod into a relatively small, and therefore unnoticed, hole made by drilling laterally into the drawer set. Another possibility is to turn the office furniture upside down, whereby the locking bars drop into the unlocking position due to their own weight.
However, the very real danger which exists with the hitherto known security office furniture with interchangeable locks is that a spy disguised as a customer, supplier or service engineer for the telephone or central heating companies, or even a member of staff, is able to replace the original lock, which is generally a complicated cylinder lock, by a specially prepared lock during a brief absence of the person in charge, since the furniture generally is left open during office hours. The original key held by the authorized person and the key held by the spy will then fit into the new lock. It is then possible for the spy or his accomplice to open his specially prepared lock and carry out his spying during subsequent visits even if the office furniture happens to be closed and locked.